Depeche Mode

Amanda Muscha is a mathematician, and it shows. Her Depeche Mode shawl design is a number-junkie’s dream, stuffed full of formulas and methods and equations, oh my. I am not a mathematician. I occasionally need to take off my shoes to count to seventeen. When I was first getting to know this design, I was thinking that perhaps it would be one of those patterns that looks amazing, but appeals mostly to someone who is an engineer or statistician by day and a knitter by night. However, once I dug in and really started to work with it, I was so impressed with the clean simplicity of it that I forgot to be intimidated by the numbers and columns and logic of it all.

When Amanda sent us the initial idea for this design, she suggested that it would not only showcase handpainted variegated yarns, but would also be a great way to use up some of the ever-growing-multiplying-like-bunny-rabbits stash of leftover yarns which most of us have cultivated.  In the stash-busting spirit,  I used a self-striping sock yarn (which shall remain nameless) that I dug out of my closet when I began the test-knit of the design. I had a great time knitting the pattern, but found that the self-striper was not the best yarn choice; the color repeats in the yarn were much too long to properly showcase the little mitered squares in the design. In fact, it was so unattractive that I frogged it once I was sure the pattern was good to go. I didn’t even bother to photograph it, which I now regret because I can’t show you why it didn’t work out very well. Below is a photo of why variegated yarns work so well; the short color repeats turn the corners on the miters beautifully.

Tiny squares

One of the many new skills I learned with this project (besides counting past 10 without involving my toes) was to learn to knit backwards. These tiny little squares involved turning the work back and forth time after time after time after…..you get the picture. Knitting backwards is a little awkward at first, but once I got the hang of it I loved it! So much faster than turning and purling, especially when the squares were in the final stages with very few stitches remaining. Check out this video on how to do it……

I also learned how to competently pick up stitches purl-wise from the wrong side of the fabric, which was something I had done once or twice before, but now I consider myself pretty good at. It took a little practice too, but I have used this skill a few times since this project and found it to be useful. 

Today, I feel like I have graduated from the Amanda Muscha Mathematics of Knitting course. I highly recommend purchasing the original pattern because Amanda’s method for creating the edging and picking up and working the squares is so much fun, not to mention brilliant! Once you have made the original design, you will see how useful the concept is to adapt to your own applications. I have put my own new skills to use in an adaptation of her design, in which I truly am diving into the stash to make a blanket from the leftovers of dozens of socks. In addition to my counting phobia, I am also lazy, so I adjusted Amanda’s squares to a larger size since that meant fewer ends to weave in (You can take her square pattern and adjust it to any even number to make your squares any size you like. I am making my squares with 40 stitches on size 3 needles, and they are coming out about 2.5″ square). I am also working each square individually, starting and finishing each one wherever I want to place it on the blanket. This is a major departure from Amanda’s design, but once you have made the shawl you will see how easy it is to do it this way to make a more free-form piece. I am hoping to make this blanket large enough to use on my bed, and as addictive as it is to work on I think that will actually happen. It is so much fun to find each little ball of leftover beautiful sock yarn and add it to the edge of the blanket. It’s like a little trip down Yarn Memory Lane.

Obsessive-Compulsive Squares Blanket

 My blanket is now about 3 feet square, and growing a little more every day. While watching me work on it yesterday, my eleven year old son made the observation that I am even more like a crazy person than usual, and could I please put it down for five minutes and make some dinner or something. Who needs to eat? Sheesh!

As a designer, I love to ask the question “what if?” to generate inspiration. What if the sky rained yellow? What if ducks were offended by pomegranates? What if schnauzer kisses had medicinal properties? Sounds silly, I know, but it really does lube the brain cogs responsible for creativity. So the first time I saw the delicate, airy Poppins scarf I wondered, “What if I knit this lace weight scarf in a drastically heavier gauge?” It’s an experiment I’ve been wanting to try ever since we launched “The Movie Issue.” Having recently found a little down time hidden deep within the corners of my busy life, I dusted off a few hours and used them to whip up my new favorite scarf.

 
Sorry about the poor image quality. I am temporary limited to my cell phone camera.

I used two skeins of Malabrigo Rasta and cut the fringe first so that I could knit until I ran out of yarn. I cast on 20 stitches using US size 19 needles. Really you can make this scarf with any weight yarn, just cast on a multiple of 4 stitches. It came out great in a multi-colored yarn and I bet this design is also conducive to mixing yarns in multi-fiber stripes. Download this free pattern and conduct your own knitting experiment.

If you too have not yet perfected the art of time travel so that you might actually finish everything you intend to make in your lifetime, at least Tangled has a few great last-minute gift patterns to help you in your holiday crafting endeavors. These are some of my favorite go to gift projects:

Cranberry Sauce Hat
by Brittany Tyler

This sweet cabled hat knits up quickly and with just one skien of bulky yarn.
Try it in Misti Alpaca Chunky (yum!) or Malabrigo Chunky.

Tessellations
by Tracy St. John

Let the yarn do the color work for you!
Basic granny squares worked in adorable Classic Elite Mini Mochi makes for an easy crocheted gift beanie.

Northern Lights
by Sharon Ballsmith

A very fast moebius crocheted cowl worked on a generous size L hook.

Heart Strings
by Cathy Pipinich

Basic crocheted mittens with instructions for a vast range of sizes (infant to men’s large) so you can make a pair for anyone and everyone.

Fan Stitch Stocking
by Brittany Tyler

If you’re bi-craftual and looking for a stocking pattern that works up in no time – you’ve found it!

Upcycled Oven Mitt
by Melissa Somerville

Functional oven mitt for the baking enthusiast in your life.
Make yours in recycled t-shirt yarn for a present that’s cost effective too.

Ponder
by Talitha Kuomi

A great gift for the men in your life. Also looks great in tarn.

Spandau Ballet
by Kim Driggs

These knit and crochet combo fishnet stockings work up virtually in no time at all.

Wishing you happy and yarn-filled holidays!

Smurfy Tarn

Now some people don’t like tarn, or they don’t have a good place to buy it and they don’t choose to make it themselves.  If one of these scenarios applies to you, this doesn’t mean that knitting a pattern written for tarn is out of the question.  You just have to choose a yarn to use instead and swatch until you get the required gauge.  I know, though, that the idea of endlessly swatching can be quite daunting, so read on.

In case you’d like to knit Acacia, from the Fall 2010 Issue of Tangled, my friend and I have done a bit of the legwork (or should I say fingerwork) for you.

Acacia hat, knit with tarn

For this pattern I took an educated guess that bulky or chunky weight ‘regular’ yarn knit up on the same size needles that the pattern calls for would produce the same size finished hats listed in the pattern.  You’d still have to swatch to be safe, but now you know that starting with a bulky weight yarn and adjusting your needle size to get gauge will work.

Acacia stitch detail

Before telling you all here that bulky weight yarn would work, I wanted to be absolutely sure that my estimating was right.  My friend Jean generously offered to knit up an Acacia with Araucania Nature Wool Chunky to see how it went.  Her lovely version is shown in these photos which were taken by Carolina of TripleC Photography in Brooklyn.

Acacia by the sea

Turns out that the stitch pattern in the hat helps it to hold its shape well (even though the Nature Wool Chunky is not at all a stiff yarn) and it fits perfectly.  Knit happy!

Acacia knit in Nature Wool

Here in Montana, hats are not optional. That’s no joke, it gets coooooooooooold here sometimes. My small doggie door once let in a draft so frigid, the pipes attached to my laundry sink froze solid. So, even the most fashion-conscious and hat-opposed are forced to cover their heads in the winter.

Me wearing the red beanie inspired by the one worn my Kirsten Dunst in the film Elizabethtown.

My hat of choice is the slouchy hat. I think this style of hat looks good on nearly everyone and doesn’t horribly smush down your hair. Before I even finished the Elizabethtown inspired Claire beanie, I knew I wanted to make the same hat in a much heavier and warmer aran weight yarn for the upcoming Montana winter … not that I don’t love my cabled hat knit in Artyarns cashmere sock yarn.

My much chunkier Malabrigo version of Claire.

If you want to make a chunkier Claire too, here are the pattern modifications:

MATERIALS
Yarn: 2 skeins of Malabrigo Twist or ~300 yds aran weight yarn
Needles: US size 6 circular needle 16″ long; US size 9 circular needle 16″ long; US size 9 set of double-pointed needles
Notions: Cable needle; stitch markers; tapestry needle, pom pom maker (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

With smaller needle CO 84 sts.

Brim:

Rnd 1: *[K1, p1] four times, p2, k1, p3, repeat from * to end.
Rnds 2-5: Repeat rnd 1.

Increase rnd 1: *[K1, p1] four times, p2, m1l, k1, m1r, p3, repeat from * to end – 96 sts.
Increase rnd 2: *[K1, p1] four times, p2, k1, m1l purlwise, k1, m1r purlwise, k1, p3, repeat from * to end – 108 sts.

Body:

Change to larger needles and continue following Claire hat pattern beginning with round ten working the decrease rnds as specified until you have 12 sts left.

Finishing:

Block lightly over a dinner plate and attach a pom pom if desired.

Remember those patchwork leg warmers from the special Sock Summit issue last summer?  In the pattern photos it looks as though that green legging and I have a perfectly happy relationship, but behind the scenes, that project and myself have had our ups and downs. When I began designing “Vanilli,” I anticipated it would be a little bit difficult to create 6 knit panels in all different stitch patterns in the exact same length… particularly because some of the strips are knit vertically and others horizontally.  Even with the most careful of gauge checking, it would be nearly impossible for one to knit all the strips at precisely equal lengths. But my initial panels were not only a little bit off – I predicted they would never become anything more than a schnauzer toy (a most tragic fate met by only my most shameful and unredeemable of knitting projects), let alone a wearable accessory. Under a strict deadline to finish at least one leg warmer by Sock Summit, I did not have time to frog and re-knit the uneven strips. I charged forward, and though each seam looked more awful than the one before it, I did construct a wonky twisting and puckering tubular something. Some of my seams were too tight while others were too loose and the top and bottom edges were more uneven than politician’s polygraph read-out.

Second leg warmer before blocking. I wish I had photographed my first unblocked leg warmer – it looked worse than this one. If your leg warmers aren’t looking perfect as you seam them, don’t worry. They will even out with blocking.

I was prepared to give up the idea of displaying the leg warmer at Sock Summit for fear of mass ridicule from the most elite knitters in the handmade sock world. In a last ditch effort to save the sample, I decided to employ a rigorous blocking regimen to whip the leg warmer into at least some sort of recognizable shape. I soaked the piece in cool water for at least an hour before gently wringing it out just enough so that it wasn’t dripping excessively – but it was still quite wet. Then I stretched it in all directions smoothing out the seams and forcing all the panels to the same length before pinning the legging to the carpet with t-pins. I didn’t pin it down along all sides – just the top and bottom edges.  After that, I propped a plug-in fan on the floor inches from the piece and let it blow dry for a few hours. I did all of this before picking up and knitting the ribbing along the top and bottom edge of the leg warmer.

Serious blockifying

Not only did my efforts rescue the project from a horrible demise, blocking completely revived the leg warmer! I have seen some incredible “before and after” photos where projects experience quite a facelift after washing, but this project  epitomized the incredible power of blocking for me. If your making or dreaming of making Milli Vanilli please do not be discouraged if your leg warmers aren’t looking perfect while in progress. Seriously, blocking is an essential part of this particular design and is a good practice in general. It can  revive even the most terminally ill of pieces as proven by my multi-stitch leg warmers. Go forth and blockify!

It’s been almost a year since we launched Tangled last fall and it has been nothing but the most difficult fun I’ve ever had since we began this online endeavor.  In the spirit of celebrating our upcoming one year anniversary and because we want Tangled to continue getting better and better, I have been making a LOT of changes to the site.  Here’s a little sneak peek of some of the new features that will soon be available on Tangled.

• Clearer pattern information
You’ll notice all of the essential pattern information is in a neat and tidy list in left hand column.

• More and Larger Images
Below the main glamour shot you’ll notice little image thumbnails. When you click on one of those thumbnails, that picture will take the place of the main image. This new layout will allow me to publish more and larger photos for each pattern so you don’t miss any details.

• Integration with Yarn Shops and Suppliers
Right below the yarn information in the materials list you’ll notice a link that will allow you to purchase the materials required for the pattern from a sponsor.

• Better Interactivity with Social Networking Sites
You’ll notice a new navigation bar at the top of the page that has icons were you can Tweet about the pattern you are viewing or you can view all of the Ravelry projects.  The main pages will also include a facebook icon and a link where you can subscribe to our monthly-ish email newsletter (those are getting a facelift too).

• Better Integration with the Tangled Blog
We see the blog as a forum to really dig deeper into the patterns and content on the main site. We love to offer pattern modifications, tips and tricks, interviews with designers, and other cool stuff here. Whenever we post something pertinent to a particular pattern or article over here on the blog, we’ll include a little module right on the page so you won’t miss anything (look for the little green box in the right column).

I can’t wait to show you the next issue with all of our new patterns, a couple of articles, and the new Tangled look!!!!!

Bowie by Rebecca Blair

When Rebecca Blair’s Bowie socks came next into my editing queue, I was very happy to see them. First, because these are some seriously lovely socks and I was glad to get the chance to know them better. Second, I really wanted to try out the dainty crochet medallions which form the cuff. However, I did not have any sock yarn within three feet of me, so, giving in to my inherently lazy nature, I grabbed what yarn I did have within my grasp; a soft fuzzy ball of Invernal, a wool/angora blend from Aslan Trends which was sitting right there next to me in my basket, along with a size G hook. It must have been pre-ordained somewhere.

Once I got through the first three medallions, I started thinking that it would be a shame to just rip them out once I was finished working on the pattern. In the heavier gauge, the medallions are still delicate but a bit more weighty and substantial, and I really liked the look of them like that. I finished all of them and worked through Rebecca’s cuff instructions, and decided that this lovely little crocheted ring could be the beginning of a delightful cozy cowl.

My Bowie Cowl

To make this cowl, you will need about 200 yds of DK weight, a size G crochet hook, and size 6 or 7 16″ circular needles. Follow the Bowie pattern as it is written through the end of the crochet cuff instructions and pick up stitches as directed in the leg instructions. I made the same number of medallions as were written for the sock design, and my cowl is about 24″ in circumference. If you want yours to be a different size, just make more or fewer medallions. Once you have your stitches on the needle, work in stockinette st (or seed, or ribbing, or whatever you like) for about 5″, or as long as you want your cowl to be. Bind off loosely, leaving the last stitch live. Put the stitch on your crochet hook, and work a round of single crochet along the top edge of the cowl. To edge the top, you can work some chain loops of any size you like, or a round of picots or shells, whatever you like the look of. For mine, I worked a round of shells with a picot placed at the peak of each shell.

If you are a beginner crocheter with a bit more sock knitting experience, this might be a great way to get a feel for the crochet techniques used in this design. It’s probably a little easier to handle the larger crochet hook and heavier yarn if you feel like you want to practice before diving in to the sock pattern. I frequently use this trick when following a pattern written for a fine gauge….if I’m not quite sure of what I am doing or how the finished product is supposed to look, it always helps me to work it in a heavier yarn first, that way I can see a bit better what is going on. Some of my favorite accidental designs have happened this way. Knitters, these socks are so beautiful you wouldn’t want to miss out on making them because you are intimidated by the crochet portion.

If you are an experienced crocheter who has not tried knitting socks, this is an excellent first sock pattern to try. The knitting portion of the pattern is lovely in it’s simplicity, and a great way to get your knitting “feet” wet. The cowl project would also be a great way to practice your basic stockinette stitch, since the gauge is larger and that 16″ circular needle is a bit easier to manipulate than those tiny double-points. Once you get through the cowl, you will be more than ready to tackle the socks.

Even if you only get as far as making a practice run with the cowl, it will be well worth it; this is a great cowl.  I really don’t think you will be able to resist the socks, though. The day I wore Bowie at Sock Summit was the most attention my legs have gotten in about 20 years! I can’t wait for fall so I can wear my own pair of Bowie socks with my boots and my Bowie cowl with a jacket, all at the same time.

We would love to see photos of cowls using the Bowie pattern on our Ravelry forum. Please  share with us. Enjoy!

Spandau Ballet by Kim Driggs

There are so many great things about this pattern, I may not even be able to count that high. My favorite thing about these knit/crochet combo socks is how FAST they are to make. Need to whip up a unique pair of socks for a gift? I had mine finished in two days.  Well, maybe that is my second-favorite thing. Very favorite thing; they are ADORABLE!

My tie-dye Spandau Ballet

The fine-gauge knitted sole makes them very comfortable to wear. I am sometimes not a fan of a sock with a crochet sole, just because the stitches tend to be coarser on my feet. This knitted sole was very interesting to work; I will admit that this was my first toe-up sock, and I learned something new……Judy’s Magic Cast-on. I watched Liat’s video tutorial to learn how. The heel is really interesting, I have not shaped a heel in quite this manner before. Kim Driggs, designer of Spandau Ballet, says you can use any short row heel you like to make her socks, but I used the one she wrote and it was fun to do.

Once you have finished the sole, it is super simple to work the crochet mesh for the instep and cuff.  For the pink and green pair,  I literally had that portion finished in about an hour, then moved on the the knit ribbing for the top of the cuff.  Since finishing this pair, I have started a second pair, this time in lovely Mountain Colors Bearfoot Summer Rainbow colorway. I am going to make this pair knee-high, which will require me to increase the mesh in the calf area. This modification is really easy to do with this simple mesh, and since the socks are toe-up, you can try them on as you go to see when you have increased enough. Here is what I did to increase mine….I’m sure there are a couple of ways to do it, this was just the one that I liked the best:

Keep trying on your sock as you go, and when you are one round before you feel it is time to add a ch-4 sp to add some room, mark the sc which most closely lines up with the center back heel with a safety pin. When you come around to the marked sc, work your next sc after your ch-4 into the marked sc rather than in the ch-4 sp, then (ch 4, sc in the next ch-4 sp) as usual. Replace the safety pin in the extra sc you just made.  Continue on as before, working the extra (ch-4, sc) set as often as you need to in that same line up the back of the leg until your sock is as tall and big around as you want it to be. Proceed to the ribbing instructions, keeping in mind that you will have to adjust your number of stitches upward from what is written to accommodate the extra size of your sock.

Increases for the calf

If you look just to the right of the pin, you can see a sc worked into a sc, rather than into a ch-4 sp. There are 2 other increase sets visible in the photo; follow the line down the sock underneath the marked sc, and you will see them spaced about 3 rounds apart.

Rainbow knee-highs in progress

I think these will become my go-to gift socks. Love them!

Team Tangled's colorful little booth

Having never been to Sock Summit, I had no idea what to expect.  I had never before even been to Portland which proved itself to be delightfully weird.  Tracy and I were debating dressing up in 80′s attire for the event to promote our tubular Sock Summit Summer issue, but a mutual friend talked us out of such a gimmick warning us that we would look like freaks.  She was wrong. We wouldn’t have even stood out in either Portland or Sock Summit amongst the unconventional colored hair, knit viking helmets with sock ponytails dangling at the sides, velvet 18th century gowns, or long fiber infused dreadlocks.

I anticipated there would be yarn – lots of fabulous yarn. But even if tasked with the challenge of imagining what heaven might be like, I couldn’t have pictured a more desirable place than the market area of Sock Summit (perhaps without the brussel sprout colored carpet and with rosy-cheeked cherubs spinning yarn from cloud fiber).  Sock Summit was represented primarily by smallish independent dyers and spinners, meaning most of the yarns available there were the kinds of yarns one could not find anywhere else.  Kettle-dyed, hand-painted, multi-colored, tonal , hand-spun, shimmering, soft fiber and yarns lined every corner of the curtained booths.  Remembering it now makes me think Sock Summit isn’t going to come around again until summer 2013?!?! Good thing I bought enough yarn to last me till then… and beyond…

A Verb for Keeping Warm

MacKintosh Yarns

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… Delicious yarn…

Sanguine Gryphon

In addition to the S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G yarn, Sock Summit was filled with exciting events.  A small sock museum, a chance to knit on the world’s largest sock in an attempt to break the Guinness record, demos, knitting races, and even a flash mob were all some of the crazy happenings to befall the Oregon Convention Center  last weekend.  You can watch videos of the yarn ridden flash mob on YouTube.

Flash Mob

Knitting on the world's largest sock

Tangled had many fun happenings taking place over at our little booth too. We had free custom temporary tattoos, knitting and crochet t-shirts (now available in the Tangled Shop), and all of the samples available in the special Sock Summit issue.

Tattoos!

Patterns

We also offered a demo with Melissa Somerville on how to make “tarn” (yarn created from spiral cut t-shirts) as featured in her graffiti slipper/socks from the Summer 2011 issue (below).  These socks are knit with light-colored tarn and then stenciled with freezer paper and fabric spray paint. If you missed the demo – or just can’t remember the steps – Melissa has a photo tutorial that walks you through the process.

Prince by Melissa Somerville

Other projects you can make with your tarn…

Upcycled Oven Mitt by Melissa Somerville

Acacia by Talitha Kuomi

Gone Knittin' by Melissa Somerville

Team Tangled was delighted to meet our fans – and curious bystanders – in person. We even received a surprise visit from The Panopticon‘s Franklin Habit. It took every cog in my brain turning in high gear for me to coherently (hopefully) describe Tangled to Franklin through a nervous, star-struck stupor.  Then Harry, the talking ball of sock yarn, starting recording me with his video camera, and I was so flustered I’m sure you could have positioned me on a buoy off the Oregon coast and used my face as a beacon.

We were more than a little pleased to receive such a great response to our brainchild.  We were especially happy to hear so many nice comments regarding our bi-craftual model.  Even crafters who only knew how to knit were glad to see that we offered crochet and combo patterns. I personally was surprised by how many summiters we met who were already bi-craftual or wanting to pick up both crafts.  It seems to me that more and more fiber-enthusiasts are enjoying both knitting and crochet equally these days. Even Franklin Habit said he was learning to crochet.

The comments and suggestions we received from our viewers have been invaluable to us. We now have lots of new ideas to make Tangled better and better – so stay tuned!